The invention relates to an improved apparatus for disintegrating bales of agricultural material such as hay.
Bale processors, including processors of the type having a tub with longitudinally disposed disintegration flail rollers and bale support rollers (as disclosed in Canadian Patent No. 2,086,569 owned by the applicant herein) are known. However, primarily due to the large size and weight of modern xe2x80x9csquarexe2x80x9d bales (which have a rectangular configuration), problems may be encountered with operational flexibility and durability of some processors. Further, the majority of the processors known to the inventors are only adapted to process one type of common form of bale (i.e. xe2x80x9croundxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9csquarexe2x80x9d) and are only adapted to discharge out of one side of the processor. Moreover, some known processors are not adapted for easy use with older tractors due to hydraulic feed line requirements exceeding the typical number of hydraulic ports on such tractors.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bale processor having operational flexibility and enhanced durability. According to a broad aspect of the invention, the invention provides an apparatus for processing baled crop material comprising: a chassis having a front and back end and a left and right side; a processing tub having two opposing end walls, two opposing side walls and a discharge opening located in one of the side walls; a disintegrator mounted in the processing tub adapted to disintegrate baled crop material positioned within the tub and discharge the processed bale material out the discharge opening; and a manipulator mounted within the processing tub adapted to manipulate the baled crop material to expose different parts thereof to the disintegrator; wherein the processing tub is adapted to be mounted on the chassis such that the discharge opening can be positioned on either the left or right side of the chassis.
According to another aspect of the invention, the invention provides an apparatus for processing baled crop material comprising: a chassis having a front and back end and a left and right side; a processing tub having two opposing end walls, two opposing side walls and a discharge opening located in one of the side walls; a disintegrator mounted in the processing tub adapted to disintegrate baled crop material positioned within the tub and discharge the processed bale material out the discharge opening; and a manipulator mounted within the processing tub adapted to manipulate the bald crop material to expose different parts thereof to the disintegrator; wherein the processing tub is sized to accommodate a large square bale or, at least two round bales longitudinally therein for processing.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the invention provides an apparatus for processing baled crop material comprising: a chassis having a front and back end and a left and right side; a processing tub having two opposing end walls, two opposing side walls and a discharge opening located in one of the side walls; a disintegrator mounted in the processing tub adapted to disintegrate baled crop material positioned within the tub and discharge the processed bale material out the discharge opening; a manipulator mounted within the processing tub adapted to manipulate the baled crop material to expose different parts thereof to the disintegrator; and a fork lift mounted on the rear of the chassis to raise baled crop material from the ground into the processing tub wherein the fork lift is adjustable to receive baled crop material of different configurations.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the invention provides an apparatus for processing baled crop material comprising: a chassis having a front and back end and a left and right side; a processing tub having two opposing end walls, two opposing side walls and a discharge opening located in one of the side walls; a disintegrator mounted in the processing tub adapted to disintegrate baled crop material positioned within the tub and discharge the processed bale material out the discharge opening; a manipulator mounted in the processing tub adapted to manipulate the baled crop material to expose different parts thereof to the disintegrator; at least one hydraulic motor for driving the manipulator; a discharge door pivotally mounted above the discharge opening to direct processed bale material discharged from the discharge opening; at least one hydraulic cylinder attached to the discharge door to raise and lower the discharge door; a selector valve having a first output connected to the at least one hydraulic motor and a second output connect to the at least one hydraulic cylinder, the selector valve being adapted to move between a first setting and second setting wherein hydraulic fluid flow from an input hydraulic line is directed to the first output or the second output respectively; and an actuator to move the selector valve between the first setting and the second setting.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, the invention provides an apparatus for processing baled crop material comprising: a chassis having a front and back end and a left and right side; a processing tub having two opposing end walls, two opposing side walls and a discharge opening located in one of the side walls; a disintegrator mounted in the processing tub adapted to disintegrate baled crop material positioned within the tub and discharge the processed material out the discharge opening; and a manipulator mounted in the processing tab adapted to manipulate the baled crop material to expose different parts thereof to the disintegrator; wherein the chassis has two ground engaging wheels rotatably mounted on an adjustable axle such that the distance between the two wheels can be adjusted.
The invention provides an improved bale processor that is easily convertible from a left-hand discharge arrangement to a right-hand discharge arrangement. Furthermore, the bale processor can process a large square bale or, alternatively, one or more round bales and includes an adjustable bale loading mechanism for loading bales of different configurations. Moreover, the bale processor includes a hydraulic selector assembly such that a single set of hydraulic lines can be used to operate two separate hydraulic systems on the bale processor.